THE COURTAULDIAN ISSUE 22

MUSEION

The East Wing Biennial 2020 A Climb to the Moon Can’t Cit it Out p. 12 p. 30 p. 51 Cover by Vitoria Mendes Table of contents 4 6 8 Musing on the Muse One Line Reviews: Museum, Is it Just an Margarita FA Dora Maar Umbrella Term? Chiclana Aniela Rybak 12 19 25 The East Wing The Nude Subject The Problem of the Biennial Rosie Sluggett and Kira Surrealist Muse Lewis Duncan Gurmail-Kaufmann Audrey Warne 30 34 36 A Climb to the Moon Chameleon An Unannounced Alessandra Marchesi Kamran Sajid Arrival Campari Conchiglie 39 43 51 Muff-Busters My Personal Museion Can’t Cit it Out Kitty Cook Zofia Beaupré Zoe Manset 56 58 Svečiuose pas Rothko You Are Enough Liza Miseikyte Anouk de Laubier 1 Letter from THE TEAM Editor the In the Sara Quattrocchi Febles past, the idea of the editor ‘muse’ related to the passive Deputy Editor female lover whose sole purpose Isobelle White was to inspire the ‘genius’ male artist. Only Literary Editor in recent history, we have started realizing that the Ellie Perry muse goes beyond this preestablished conception. Not only have we begun to break away from this perception of the Reviews Editor Saga Sjöberg muse, but we have also begun to relate it to broader ideas. Even though we are breaking from these confines, many people still might subcon- Events Editor sciously relate the idea of the muse to these preestablished traditions, so Lissie Mackintosh instead of the word ‘muse’ as the theme for Issue 22, The Courtauldian Copy Editors has chosen Museion. Afrah Allsopp, Bea Fomin, Sarah Chang, and Taija Hurri In ancient Greek, the word ‘museion’ meant the ‘seat of the Muses’ and represented a philosophical institution or a place of contemplation, Head of Graphics Zeynep Koksal thus spawning the word museum. We wanted Issue 22 to take on the role of a conceptual locality, allowing our writers and artists to stop for a Graphic Designers minute from the constant stress we have all become accustomed to and Audrey Warne, Bronwen Bernstein, Elliot Keim, and Yifan Wang take time to contemplate on their own passions, desires, and interests. Head of Art & Illustration Our artists and writers have approached the theme in a range Grace Han of ways, by creating their own definitions of whatMuseion is. Zofia Beaupré explores how her everyday environment is her ‘Personal Mu- Illustration Team Himarni Brownsword, Rebecca Marks, and Vitoria Mendes seion’ through her use of analog photography. Instead, Aniela Rybak’s Museum, Is it Just an Umbrella Term?, and Audrey Warne’s The Surreal- Staff Writers ist “Muse” directly challenge the traditional ideas of the muse and the Aniela Rybak, Ellen Wang, Lewis Duncan, Margarita FA Chiclana, Philippa Thomas, museum. Others have looked at how more external sources can act as Sophia Boosalis, Thea Voyles, and Zoe Manset muses, such as the city, in Zoe Manset’s Can’t “Cit” it Out, and space in Museion was produced by undergraduate and postgraduate students at The Courtauld Institute of Art, Lon- Alessandra Marchesi’s A Climb to the Moon. don. If you are interested in supporting future issues or would like more information about the publication, By the time you finish readingMuseion , you will hopefully have for- contact: [email protected]. mulated your own definition of muse and have entered a space of con- The Courtauldian is the editorially independent student publication of The Courtauld Institute of Art, templation, your own ‘museion’. University of London. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the individual authors to whom they are attributed and do not necessarily reflect those of The Courtauldian, The Courtauld Institute of Art’s Students’ Union, or any of their staff or representatives. Every effort has been made to avoid inac- curacies, to reproduce content only as permitted by copyright law, and to appropriately and fully credit the copyright holder(s) of any content reproduced. 2 3 OPINION Musing on the Muse Some thoughts on the problematic glorification of the muse today Margarita FA Chiclana The concept of the muse is something (i.e a café where one can meet Breton), which I struggle to understand in our one can however, become a muse on their day and age. I can understand it in its own terms. In the digital age - an era of original setting, but I feel that the term connectivity and awareness - there are is outdated: the concept is romanticised. endless sources of inspiration. And the And how can one ignore the hierarchical beauty of this is that through platforms and abusive relations of power between like Instagram, both artists and muses artist and muse? Dora Maar wept, but not can be empowered. One can be their own because “women are suffering machines”, muse. One can be a muse freed from the like Pablo Picasso said. It is widely known straining relations of power between artist that Picasso wasn’t the nicest man to be and muse. One can choose to be a muse around if you were a woman, to put it and remain anonymous or choose to be politely. And the fact that Maar is widely as public as possible. The possibilities are identified as one of his muses before her endless. own success is highly problematic. And although I have failed to find a One can easily identify endless muse, I have realised I use Instagram as examples of this mystical concept of the a constant source of inspiration. From muse across the centuries. From Millais’s musing over Rosalía’s nails to Damien Ophelia (1851-2) to Gauguin’s bucolic Hirst permeating my dreams to Katy the concept of the muse in the 21st centu- and exoticised Spirit of the Dead Watching Hessel’s The Great Women Artistspodcast Illustration by Grace Han (1892) to Picasso’s Weeping Woman (1937) (must follow if you don’t already). While ry, it would be naïve of me to not address to more recent examples found in popular consciously avoiding calling any of them the detrimental effect of the platform. culture like Kate Moss. To be a muse today my ‘muses’, I admit that they provide Returning to my original questions, seems to me to be an oversimplification, inspiration to millions of people every day, the relevance of the concept ‘muse’ an eloquent insult. So how does one without necessarily feeling the weight of today is questionable. While it would be respond to this concept today? Is there the term muse on their shoulders. But then nearly impossible to bin the term, I feel a space for the muse today? There are no again, although the term is empowering Instagram (when used healthily) provides muses looking over the sciences anymore, when applied to Instagram, it is also a freeing and empowering platform, that’s for sure. So, if we have moved on reserved for a specific type of person. The and a source of endless inspiration for from that concept, shall we move on unattainable and often alienating lifestyle both artist and muse. But the muse, from the concept as a whole in the 21st of mega-influencers is also an endless particularly as a woman, has been century? source of unhealthy veneration. This subjected to mystification, exoticisation I have come to the conclusion that admiration is closely linked to increasing and often exploitation at the hands of the this is a choice. While there is no longer levels of anxiety and depression among artist. And I personally can’t get behind a natural environment where one can younger audiences. And while I find this archaic concept - especially not in the fish for an artist to become their muse Instagram to be a liberating approach to 4 era of #MeToo. 5 REVIEW Dora Maar, 1907-1997 Untitled (Hand-Shell) 1934 Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper One Line Reviews 401 x 289 mm Untitled (Hand-Shell) Dora Maar Modern, London (20 November 2019 – 15 March 2020)

A nightmare manicure...

Really reminds me of the film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – surreal but very beautiful

Boring

Eroticism of the sea, combined with female pleasure

Blackpool beach isn’t what it used to be

Haunting and puzzling, but with a lightness that sets in motion both the mind and soul

Reality displaced

A type of death that comes from reaching out Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image Centre Pompi- dou, MNAM-CCI © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019 6 7 FEATURE Museum, Is it Just an Umbrella Term? Exploring its Past and Present History Aniela Rybak

There are over 250 art institutions today stems from the Middle Ages. registered in Greater London. The Tate, The modes of viewing that we associate the British Museum, the National Gallery with museums originated in the cabinets and the Victoria and Albert Museum are of curiosities (Kunstkammer in German) a few of the most popular museums in of seventeenth century Europe. The Britain’s capital. They remain the hotspots collections consisted of unusual objects for the swathes of tourists passing mainly connected with natural history, through the city alongside Chinatown or archaeology, geology and some artworks Notting Hill. When looking at the list of (mainly cabinet paintings). They were institutions in London, one can find all more similar to natural history museums kinds of places from former houses of than art galleries. It is important to bring famous personalities to museums about attention to the fact that the function public transport, crime, and cinema. The of art has significantly altered through overflowing number of museums as well time. When walking through a standard as their variety makes me wonder, is it national gallery, one should think about relevant to put all of these institutions how none of the artworks were made in under one umbrella term? order to be exhibited in a museum up The origin of the word ‘museum’ until the late twentieth century. comes from the Greek word ‘museion’, The possibility for anyone to the place where the Nine Muses of experience exhibitions with paintings and Greek mythology were located. In Latin, sculptures with the sole requirement of ‘museum’ is a synonym for a library or a purchasing a ticket is, in fact, a modern study. Therefore, there can be no doubt concept. Many artworks presented in that a place with such a name should be museums were either made for private use associated with either one of the Muses, or were connected to religious practices. who represent poetry professing love or If artworks were created to be seen by epic encounters, history, music, tragedy, a wider public, they would be closely hymns, dance, comedy and astronomy, connected to the character of the place or a connection to any scholarly activity. they were meant for, such as a church or a Nowadays, we mainly associate museums town hall. This means that placing art in a with art, even though there was no Muse museum automatically deprives it from its Illustration by April Abad representing visual arts in Classical Greece original context. However, if it was not for as the concept of ‘art’ as we understand it museums, most of the world would never 8 9 be able to see an artwork by Pablo Picas- Ever since 1977, the European so or Piero della Francesca. It makes me Museum Forum has awarded the wonder whether museums are the most European Museum of the Year Award appropriate places to exhibit art. And fur- (EMYA). The range of institutions that thermore, is it adequate to use the same have been rewarded is quite varied. The Does honouring museums with the award word in order to describe both the Design winners have ranged from institutions Museum and Tate Modern? Can an insti- focusing on art, design, and architecture, change anything for the visitors? tution that encourages viewers to active- to ones specialized in history, literature, ly participate in its exhibitions have the and transport. The aim of the European same name as an art gallery that presents Museum Forum is to “recognise excellence Maybe some people would have never its artworks without public interaction? in the European museum scene and visited certain museums if not for the Can an institution that encourages view- encourage innovative processes.” Besides publicity connected to EMYA. However, ers to actively participate in its exhibitions always being different from the previous not only does the prize promote the have the same name as an art gallery that year’s winner, the awarded museum is awarded institution, but it also reminds the presents its artworks without public inter- also seen as a significant influence on its public about the importance of museums. action? country’s culture. It helps with promoting the idea of alternative education and preserving cultural goods, thus maintaining the key concept of a museum. If a museum is a place where a visitor can learn about history and culture in a non-traditional way, then might it be justified to give the same name to so “When looking at the list of institutions many different institutions? Maybe the universality of the term is what helps all in London, one can find all kinds of these institutions to function, as all visitors have certain ideas and expectations of places from former houses of famous what a museum is in their head. After all, the 250 institutions in London all share personalities to museums about public the same aim: to preserve and share their transport, crime, and cinema.The cultural heritage. overflowing number of museums as well as their variety makes me wonder, is it relevant to put all of these institutions under one umbrella term?”

10 11 FEATURE East Wing Biennial Part 1 Lewis Duncan The History of the East Wing Biennial “I want to be free, wild, beautiful, and beneficial. That is why I am doing such an outrageous thing at the Courtauld.”* * Factual Nonsense: The Art and Death of (2013)

Joshua Compston’s vision for art in and also young artists like Glasgow the everyday led him to found the East School of Art student Rowan Bazley Wing Biennial and later, his East London and his pencil on paper self-portrait. To gallery, Factual Nonsense. The first East have a selection of works from across the Wing Biennial, then known as The Cour- spectrum of artists respects Compston’s tauld Loan Collection, opened on 27 No- support for emerging contemporary art- vember, 1991. This was the beginning of a ists and reflects on the history of the Bi- short-lived but tremendous effort by the ennial as he played a seminal role in the young eccentric to transform how people early YBAs movement and East London experience art. The East Wing Biennial art scene. This exhibition will see the has remained an important part of the walls brought to life with faces displayed student learning experience at the Cour- throughout the building, with the East tauld. The new location at Vernon Square Wing team exhibiting works to convey calls for a different approach this year. For community and personality. the 2020 East Wing Biennial, students Compston’s fearless character is cap- are excited to curate the Ruth Borchard tured in Factual Nonsense: The Art and Collection’s self-portraits throughout the Death of Joshua Compston, a biography building, offering wonderful artworks of compiled anecdotes and interviews close-up, and exploring themes relating collated by artist friend Darren Coffield, to the self. who exhibited in the original Courtauld A portrait of Compston normally Loan Collection. Among the many sto- hangs on the second floor of the Vernon ries, Compston’s contemporaries describe Square building and by this spring, the his efforts to solicit funds for the Cour- portrait will be joined by a diverse col- tauld Loan Collection, met by disuasion lection of self-portraits from the Ruth from then director Dennis Farr CBE, Borchard Next Generation Collection. who wrote Compston a stern letter chas- The collection includes work from cele- tising the student’s criticism of the uni- Susan Engledow brated painters such as Celia Paul, Maggy versity and audacity for writing to alumni Self Portrait 2016, ‘Nervermore, tho’ the wind sigh in the sedge Hambling, and prominent Young British and patrons. wrote back Oil paint on skin plywood 73.4 x 73.4 cm Artists (YBAs) member, , wishing “Good Luck.” But Compston’s 12 13 efforts came to fruition, single handedly Biennial can give back and offer rich ex- raising £25,000 with support from the periences. “If the Courtauld had a contemporary art Duchess of Westminster and Jeremy Fry, For an institution with an alumni net- to hang a show featuring Gilbert and work operating in the world’s most signif- programme hither to then the whole of our George, , Langlands icant galleries and museums, one would and Bell, and . This first expect some training on the tools required culture in this country would be different. exhibition had a lasting mark on the art for such jobs, and yet, the uni versity has scene of the time, though Compston’s remained quite traditional in the way in Because our culture is mainly controlled by life was cut-short when in 1996 he died which it focuses on the history of art. The of an ether overdose in the Factual Non- East Wing Biennial modernised the stu- Courtauld graduates.” sense Gallery. In one way, his vision was dent experience at the Courtauld. It need- * Factual Nonsense: The Art and Death of Joshua Compston (2013) the antithesis of the highly corporate ed to be pioneered by a student to break YBAs working today; this year, the East the tradition and bureaucracy of the uni- Wing Biennial team intends to have a versity structure. Compston’s dynamism strong public programme supporting and gave future students the opportunity to Part 2 discussing the exhibition, working with exercise their creativity and learn new schools, students, and artists so that the skills. The 2020 East Wing Biennial

A return to a focused look at the self tion, and demonstrated a passion for art feels relevant for 2020, to reflect on our somewhat similar to Compston’s. The lives in the 21st century. This will build original collection includes artworks by on the 2016 exhibition, Artificial Realities, significant figures such as David Bomberg, which made audiences consider their ex- though it only includes five self-portraits perience and perceptions of technology, by women. The East Wing team intends and 2018’s exhibition, Surge, which chal- to exhibit highlights from the original lenged traditional mediums and explored collection alongside the Next Generation gender. Collection to create a dialogue about so- The Ruth Borchard Prize is a biennial cially relevant interpretations of the self. competition that offers £10,000 prize to Tracey Emin is also included in the Next UK-based artists, with a number of works Generation Collection, and is also an accepted into the collection. The col- artist that played a role in the art scene lection and prize are displayed by Piano Compston helped stimulate in the mid- Nobile Gallery and is the UK’s only major 1990s. Networks and communities gov- collection of portraits. ern many artistic practices, and to convey Working as a writer in the mid-20th these themes, the exhibition will also ex- century, Ruth Borchard would offer art- plore the self-portrait as an expression of ists 21 guineas (approximately £1) for individual identities and how they exist in their paintings regardless of their status. art history and artistic groups. The bold offer enabled her to amass one The exhibition will be launched at Susan Light hundred self-portraits for the original ResFest 2020, the annual Courtauld re- New Specs, 2011 collec- search Oil on paper on board 79 x 91 cm 14 15 estival. The festival brings together aca- demics, artists, and poets for a variety of activities including talks, performances, workshops and pop-ups. Students will offer tours and introductions to the East Wing Biennial on the day. The East Wing team hopes to continue the activity and energy that will be experienced during ResFest for the duration of the exhibi- tion, with performances, workshops, and artists’ talks. As mentioned in his biography, Com- pston had a grand vision for educating the public, particularly local communities on contemporary art. He planned seminars to educate children about art and effec- tively communicate about the language employed by artists for expression. He wanted to amend the nationwide deficit in understanding and encouraging cre- ativity. The East Wing team is keen to engage with schools and local community David Bomberg groups in the King’s Cross area. This is Self Portrait, 1921 particularly important for the Courtauld Charcoal on paper as an institution that has landed itself in 73.4 x 73.4 cm an unknown residential area. A baptist church by the gates, houses and apart- ment buildings surrounding all sides of the building, there’s a lot of potential for “Ruth Borchard making the exhibition outward-looking and inviting. A private view event, open Collection is delighted to all, will occur after the ResFest opening and from there an exciting programme of to offer the experience events will commence for the rest of the year. The East Wing team looks forward to Courtauld students to providing students with a fascinating collection of artworks to enjoy while on to curate the whole campus and to promote curious and in- teresting encounters. Next Generation Collection, for the first

Jiro Osuga time* Roberta Travers, ever.”* Gallery Assistant at Piano Nobile Crowd, 2013 Gallery Oil on canvas 16 17 ART Kira Gurmail-Kaufmann and Rosie Sluggett, two artists with two complete- ly different drawing styles, approach the same subject of the nude through expe- riences taking life drawing classes across London. The subjects they draw become their own artistic ‘muses’ and lead them to materialize what they see onto paper in their own distinct artistic styles.

Rosie Sluggett & Kira Gurmail-Kaufmann

Drawing by Kira Gurmail-Kaufmann Materializing the Nude Subject Two artists and their take on the

life drawing Drawing by Rosie Sluggett

18 19 I have always been greatly interested tance of antiquity and the vibrancy of in creating contrast in my work with fine modern, abstract colour. I then used Kira Gurmail-Kaufmann linework and block colours. Having made drawings from life drawing sessions to studies from the Parthenon Marbles in create sculpture-like fragments of bodies, the British Museum, I wanted to create taking the warmth of living flesh and im- another contrast between the cold dis- buing it with the coldness of the marble sculptures.

20 21 Rosie Sluggett

22 23 OPINION The Problem of the “Surrealist Muse” We should be viewing the women associated with Surrealism as artists and activists—not muses Audrey Warne

Confronting a naked body and some But after a few classes, your nervous charcoal with the academic perfectionists classmates settle down in the comfort of of the Courtauld can provide great enter- the familiar, their lines becoming freer Dora Maar, 1907-1997 tainment - furrowed brows while follow- and more exuberant. An array of drawings The years lie in wait for you c. 1935 Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper ing the line of a breast, vigorous smudging of the same subject can vary so much that 355 × 254 mm when realising the genitals actually don’t browsing through everyone else’s work The William Talbott Hillman Collection quite look like that, and a flash of jeal- becomes the evening’s warmest moment. © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019 ousy towards that one absolute bitch in Although at varying standards of finish, the room who happens to be really quite each drawing is a delightful little snippet The concept of the muse has haunt- sire for violence against women, the trope good, are all behaviours to observe. To be of concentration, meditation, and curios- ed Surrealism since the movement first of the female “Surrealist muse” has been honest, I’d say that those initial reaction- ity. made its way into the art historical canon. used by so-called feminist art historians sare pretty much as fun as the activity of Alongside claims that images featuring to reduce Surrealism to a misogynistic drawing itself. fragmented female bodies exemplify a de- offshoot of European modernism.

24 25 While the Surrealists certainly would politics of gender and sexuality within its not live up to 21st century standards of own historical period—and to reconsid- social equality, any sweeping dismissal of er the histories of the many women who the movement as fundamentally misog- participated in and influenced the group. ynistic and rooted in a deep-seated fear There has been a resurgence in schol- and hatred of women disregards the fac- arship on female Surrealists in the past tious and highly complex organizational five years. Tate Modern’s Dora Maar ret- structure of the group and its many mem- rospective, which closed on March 15, bers. As we approach the centennial of the is only one of a number of recent shows movement’s beginning, it is necessary to dedicated to reconsidering the impact of contextualize Surrealism’s impact on the the many women associated with the

Dora Maar, 1907-1997 Untitled 1935 Photomontage 232 x 150 mm Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI / P. Migeat / Dist. RMN-GP © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019

Surrealist group. Dorothea Tanning, the artist, but it is also highly gendered. Leonora Carrington, Leonor Fini, Lee The male genius is inspired by his female Miller, Claude Cahun, Marcel Moore— muse. The label of the muse transforms a all of these women have been the focus woman into an object whose value comes of exhibitions and publications that have only from her relationship to the male Dora Maar, 1907-1997 aimed to reject the trope of the Surrealist artist. A muse does not exist for herself. Untitled c. 1933 muse. These women did not identify as muses, Photograph, gelatin silver print The concept of the muse exists only in they were labelled as such by the artists 240 x 183 mm opposition to that which gives it meaning. and historians who have been responsible Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard and Ronay Menschel Fund for the The muse cannot exist without the artist. for determining who gets to be a part of Acquisition of Photographs Not only does the significance of the term the art historical canon. © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019 ‘muse’ come from its relationship with 26 27 While some art historians and cura- Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore were tors are attempting to revise the canon, genderqueer Jewish lesbians who active- the traditional view that the Surrealists ly participated in the French resistance had no room for women and that its male against the Nazi Occupation. members had no interest in women out- All these women created and lived side of artistic inspiration or sexual objec- outside of the constraints imposed by tra- tification continues to dominate schol- ditional gender roles and societal values. arship. By condemning Surrealism as a Some of them had relationships, both whole for misogyny, the radical and even professional and personal, with male Sur- progressive ideals of many of the group’s realists, yet these relationships should not members are overshadowed by the prob- define their involvement with the move- lematic behaviors of - most often - the ment or their work as artists. By rejecting movement’s highly controversial founder, the label of the muse, we provide space André Breton. While Breton and the oth- for new histories to be written—histories er Surrealists did engage in misogynistic that tell the stories of the women who behavior at different points throughout found artistic and personal freedom in the their lives, Surrealism’s ultimate goal— tenets of Surrealism. the complete and total liberation of the self from the norms imposed by bour- geois society, including those associated with traditional gender roles—remained a radical point of departure from the heteropatriarchal conceptions of gender and sexuality that dominated France in the early 20th century. By continuing to perpetuate the idea that the female artists who worked in or around the Surrealist group were no more than muses to the men they interacted with, we define their artistic production and identities by their relationships to men. Dora Maar documented the effects of the Great Depression on urban popula- tions throughout Europe. Dorothea Tan- ning spent over 70 years painting, sculpt- ing, and writing. Leonora Carrington helped start the Mexican Women’s Lib- eration Movement in the 1970s. Leonor Fini was a polyamorous bisexual who designed the costumes for Federico Fel- Dora Maar, 1907-1997 lini’s 8 ½. Lee Miller became one of the Untitled (Fashion photograph) c. 1935 first journalists to document the atrocities Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper of the Holocaust during World War II. 300 x 200 mm Collection Therond 28 © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019 29 OPINION Wind whispering through the trees, a When looking up at the starry sky, I like wave breaking on a shore, the heartbeat to imagine myself as that little man faint- A Climb To The Moon of a human being, a baby crying, a man ly sketched in William Blake’s illustration laughing, the sound of a kiss. Imagine all for The Gates of Paradise.The engraving, William Blake and his “Little Man’s” Big these sounds floating eternally in remote realised in 1793 by the British poet and Aspiration space. Launched by Nasa on September painter, shows a man at the bottom of 5, 1977, the spacecraft Voyager contained a long ladder, whose opposite end leans Alessandra Marchesi the so-called ‘Murmurs of Earth’: simple against the moon. Alone in his venture,he images, greetings, and sounds trying to is about to cross the dark outer space. present the complexity of our world. Ever On the right, a couple observes the ap- since, the space probe has been travelling parently impossible endeavour. Although among the stars with no real destination, the two figures are barely outlined, we only waiting to be discovered, finally can perceive their apprehension and fear heard. Likewise, we wander around the as they cling to one another and point at world without a certain destination, in the brave little man. Beneath the scene, the hope of bumping into something that “I want! I want!” is written in bold black will give us a meaning. And day by day we letters. It is the desperate cry of the figure greet people, we laugh, we cry, we hear the as he gazes upwards. Not bigger than a waves crashing on the beach and we shiv- playing card, the plate is just as playful. It er for a blast of wind. We collect all these comes naturally to laugh at the naivety of images, sounds, feelings as if, like the Voy- the little man, whose desire is so blinding ager, one day we will fly off towards an that he does not foresee the absurdity of unknown planet and carry with us the the journey. legacy of humankind.

Illustration by Nicholas Tang 30 31 However, just like we can be tricked Like Blake’s man, we are constantly by cards, the engraving can be read from spurred by desire. It is the will to know another angle. I find its innocence some- things, to experience, and to be better that how evocative. No matter how pathet- can blind us, but it is the same need that ic he might look, the sketched figure makes us alive. It would be easy to rely keeps hoping that one day he will reach on our own certainties and, like the two the moon. Indeed, I would say that he is figures on the right, be mere witnesses of not that different from us, the dreamers life. Yet, if we settle for being earthbound, who look yearningly at the stars. Dazzled we will be stuck in the trivial loop of pas- by the passing headlights and the steady sivity. Instead, if we are brave enough to lamp posts, we look for authenticity in start our climb towards the moon, at the the last few surviving glimmerings of the cost of looking stupid or ridiculous, we night. “Speak silence with thy glimmer- can reach new perspectives in life. ing eyes”, wrote Blake in his poem To the Even though stars are gradually fad- Evening Star. Like silent confidants, stars ing away, shadowed by the ever-growing have been eyeing humanity ever since the artificiality of city lights, we should keep very beginning. And humanity, in turn, looking for them in every corner of the has been entrusting its hopes and secrets sky. And when we see them, we should be to them. Poets and painters have been as- reminded of that little man’s big wisdom. cending that ladder with every rhyme or In this way, we can evade the constraints brushstroke that led them closer to cap- of ordinary life and take action to pursue turing the nature of stars. Driven by the our ambitions. After all, unlike the Voy- same innocence, the same curiosity, they ager, we have the power to define our were not daunted by the dimension of the path and give our own meaning to those challenge. countless images, sounds, and feelings that we gather every day.

32 33 POEM Chameleons Kamran Sajid we are chameleons varnished in red, white and blue

our varnish brands us in forests and des- erts but in the harsh light of the concrete fac- tory we are only green

our colours mix and brawl in the sky leaving our horizons foggy the sky is speaking to us in our mother tongue

why must our horizons be foggy? we scrub at our varnish oh, our homes are brighter now (!) with postcolonial fervour Illustrations by Afah Sheikh Instagram: @safahmaryam we have cake in our cupboards (!) and we return to our roots

well, the harsh light blinds us we were born in flooded warzones the cake leaves us bloated grounds blasphemed by red flags and land All illustrationswe’re by still Afah vitamin Sheikh D deficient mines instagram: @safahmaryam our soaking glasses impeded our vi- sion, and we continue to explode

the lava ground was green for our parents isn’t it ironic? how ambition was what removed them of their clarity?

so what is left of us? our spirits crushed by misunderstanding identity and home painfully intangible

it is our colours that remain resolute in a refusal to be exoticised with a heart revealing a green that never faded away

34 35 FEATURE An Unannounced Arrival Bernard Buffet and His Muse

Campari Conchiglie

In times less sensitive and more polit- To Bernard Buffet, that something was ically incorrect than our own, Zeus would ‘Annabel’. have been called ‘a playboy’ or, to put it An incredibly well-celebrated, patron- more crudely, ‘a bit of a lad’. If he were ised, and prolific painter of the mid-late alive today, however, he would find him- 20th century, Bernard Buffet has been in- self under investigation or arrest: it tran- explicably wiped from the contemporary spires that he used his powerful position knowledge of ‘who’s who’ in the 20th cen- as the King of Gods to sexually harass and tury art world. Quite literally the greatest prey on young women, disguising himself rival to Picasso that the century had to of- as many things including (but not limited fer, Buffet led a somewhat extraordinary to) a shower of gold, a bull, and a swan. life painting, smoking, drinking, loving Far from being traumatized, it appears and hating, deliberately remembering and that nine of his children went on to lead deliberately forgetting, living. successful lives inspiring poets, painters, Having married and divorced one dancers and so on; these nine daughters woman and very recently fallen out of were the offspring of Zeus and Mnemo- love with one man, by July 1958, Buffet syne: the Muses. found himself in rather… well…a pick- Inspiration, something which the le. A sensational party, hosted by Buffet ancients simply couldn’t seem to figure in his grand and simultaneously rustic out, is hard to describe, let alone define. Chateau l’Arc, resulted in inspiration. While scientists (particularly those with Lending reason to a bullfight staged in a a great many letters after their name) of temporary bullring, dinner, dancing, and Illustration by Vitoria Mendes our less romantic times have drawn some a firework display, the party strikes as conclusions as to what it is and how it one that would have been hard to forget comes about, the way that the everyman (provided that you were not inebriated, “To most, inspiration is the unannounced sees inspiration has remained more or less intoxicated… just plain drunk). As dawn the same. To most, inspiration is the un- broke on July 11, Buffet found himself arrival of something profound while you are announced arrival of something profound swimming (fully clothed) by the side of a while you are otherwise engaged. young and boyish looking woman: Anna- otherwise engaged. To Bernard Buffet, that bel Schwob de Lure. something was ‘Annabel’.”

36 37 REVIEW It is hard to deny that Annabel Schwob During the following years, Annabel de Lure, who was to become Annabel became Buffet’s muse: his sitter, his sub- Buffet on December 12 of that same year, ject. He painted a series entitled Portraits Muff Busters was Buffet’s muse. His first picture of her d’Annabel to be exhibited under the same was drawn with charcoal. On the process, title at the Galerie David et Garnier, Par- My Visit to the First “Vagina Museum” Annabel was to later recall: is, in 1961. However, two pictures of this Kitty Cook series, which followed the initial charcoal sketch, were never exhibited; they are Before endeavouring to actually visit mother’s audible cringe at the end of the “Bernard, sketchbook known only to a few friends of the Buf- the Vagina Museum in Camden Mar- phone conversation we had that morning fets’. Annabel was more to Bernard than ket, a pop-up museum based there for a raised some questions for me. If the idea on his knees, stared just his sitter. short time, I had some initial thoughts of a ‘Vagina Museum’ is so obviously jovi- Having lived a troubled life of battling and opinions about the museum itself and al and embarrassing to different members at me with his green against anxiety, poverty, and, one would questions or themes I hoped it would dis- of the public from all ages and identities, suppose, never-ending rumination, Buffet cuss and display. I think it is safe to say how would the museum itself project this eyes, drawing silent- connected with Annabel on an especial- that the Vagina Museum has been creat- stigma into its exhibit space to tackle ly deep level; after all, she was one of the ed based on the fundamental assumption these stereotypes about vaginas? ly. An unforgettable more remarkable women to emerge from that much of the general public or Cam- Before I delve into my personal expe- Paris’ subterranean nightclubs. Plagued by den tourists from across the world are rience at the Vagina Museum, I thought it moment. When I saw death, Annabel’s life may well have been unaware of the complexities and stigmas would be beneficial to copy down in this even more tragic than Buffet’s: her moth- surrounding vaginas. article the museum’s mission statement it, I was amazed to er committed suicide when she was just With this in mind, I woke up on a from their website: eight. Moreover, studying the story in ret- crisp and cold Saturday in January and 1. Spread knowledge and raise aware- discover that his love rospect grants one the novelty of knowing decided to take the bus and see what ness of the gynaecological anatomy and its conclusion long before its protagonists: the Vagina Museum was really all about. health had washed years of both Annabel’s father and husband were Whilst on the way, I had received awk- 2. Give confidence to people to talk about to commit suicide too. Married and to- ward jokes and giggles from my friends issues surrounding the gynaecological strain from my face gether until the end of Bernard’s life in on discovering where I was headed to. My anatomy 1999, these two undeniably troubled art- 3. Erase the stigma around the body and – I was young and ists sought refuge and inspiration in each gynaecological anatomy other. To Annabel, Bernard was a rock - a 4. Act as a forum for feminism, women’s happy again. A second predictably unpredictable, passionate, and rights, the LGBT+ community and the sensitive lover and friend. To Bernard, intersex community birth.” Annabel was his everything. His Muse. 5. Challenge heteronormative and cis- normative behaviour 6. Promote intersectional, feminist and trans-inclusive values On arriving at the Vagina Museum’s small space within Camden Market it- “His Muse.” self, I realised that the physical amount of space they were working with was argu- ably difficult to construct a concise mes- sage into. Perhaps controversial to some,

38 39 the Vagina Museum widely uses discourse about the changing ideas behind spaces to portray itself. This can be seen through such as these. Although, it is important to the array of boards dotted across the small remember that the Vagina Museum itself space all with facts concerning vagina’s is a pop-up space, and a permanent fixture and their representation within our soci- would have maybe led the curators to take ety. a more visual approach to their message. What I liked as you entered the mu- Despite this, it was interesting to see seum is the play on words on the cen- how the museum offers a chance for lo- tre-board, ‘Muff Busters’. In itself, the cal artists to display their feminist and term provides a humorous stage to set the body-positive works in a small space ded- museum and its pieces albeit alongside icated to this within the gift-shop area. serious and concerning facts about views In January, illustrator Charlotte Willcox and opinions from across the world of fe- showcased her work. Personally, I love male genitalia. this touch within the space as it portrays a As the museum is based mostly on real feeling of permanence to the project textual information, it forced me to ques- and what it stands for. tion my own idea of a museum away from It is interesting to consider the chang- the traditional status-quo and wonder ing nature of museums in our modern

All illustrations by Vitoria Mendes 40 41 PHOTOGRAPHY world whilst experiencing the Vagina Mu- seum. Originally, the team began launch- ing small pop ups and exhibitions across the country in 2017. In cases such as the Vagina Museum, having the title of ‘mu- seum’ plays an important role in the way they are conveying information to their audience. If this was just an exhibition, I would find it highly likely for there not to be such a commotion and as much in- terest and publicity surrounding it. In this way, I think it is interesting that the Va- gina Museum uses its platform and status as a ‘museum’ to educate about something that is severely lacking in the art world. If you asked the average person on their perception of female genitalia within art, it is likely they would imagine an almost romanticised version of the female anato- my. Even throughout history, art has had an uncomfortable relationship with dis- playing genitals; a common conception of this is the use of fig leaves created to cover the anatomies of the classical sculptures acquired by the Vatican City. Although I came in with many pre- suppositions about what I would see and experience at the Vagina Museum, main- ly that I would feel uncomfortable and “It is interesting to slightly embarrassed by my visit there, I was pleasantly surprised with how the consider the changing project managed to give an informative yet non-abrasive experience for the visitor nature of museums and stay true to its mission statement, and My Personal Museion I hope they find permanent premises and in our modern world continue to do so. whilst experiencing The pursuit of inspiration through the lense of a the Vagina Museum.” 35mm film camera Zofia Beaupré

42 43 More than two years ago, I decided I became so absorbed in this subject that to sign up to take darkroom classes at my in our studio class I even decided to recre- high school. During the very first lesson, ate a scene from school; with the use of an our teacher encouraged us to establish a old classroom desk, I photographed two certain theme that we could frequently of my friends. I instructed them to look document and use as our photographic slightly bored or even mad in order to re- subject. I was thus told to start consider- flect the way they act in school. Another ing what I could photograph in my envi- instance was when our yearbook photos ronment that could be of any interest to were taken and I decided to make use me. I realized that the most interesting “Transform my of the professional lighting equipment. I photographic subjects around me were asked my friends to turn around so that I my friends - people with whom I came daily environment could take photos of the way they styled into contact with every day and knew their hair for that occasion. their routines almost by heart. Thus, I into my own Seeing the same people nearly every decided to dedicate most of my work day in similar surroundings inspired me to them and their daily endeavors. The personal museion.” to try and capture them in their most “raw themes of these projects varied - I took state” and thus, emphasize the attributes photos of them eating, styling their hair, of their character with which I associated or simply indulging in everyday pleasures. them with the most - manifested in what As I explored these various themes I they ate, their sport activities, or the path became more and more fascinated with they took to school. As a result, I believe capturing them in their most natural state that I was able to generate a series of pho- while doing the things they did frequent- tos that reflected my environment in the ly in pursuit of pleasure, satisfaction or most complimentary way. This approach relaxation. The places where my photos towards documenting the ‘everyday’ has were taken were usually where my class- made me become more conscious and as a mates and I spent the majority of our time result, more appreciative of my surround- studying or relaxing after school. Hence, ings. Instead of dwelling on the monot- it is there where I produced most of these ony of mundane experiences, I strive to staged or natural images. For example, by explore the various aspects of my friends’ taking photos of my friends eating their day-to-day activities, which has enabled favorite meals in the places where they me to transform my daily environment dined regularly, I was able to capture them into my own personal museion. in a casual state while doing something they enjoyed. This resulted in producing images of them in a rather awkward de- meanor as they ate their food, but thanks to this, they seemed more candid and raw.

44 45 46 47 48 49 FEATURE Can’t Cit It Out Unveiling the Megalopolis By Zoe Manset For a fair amount of times when try- to create something, whatever it was and ing to spread my thoughts on blank pa- however much it was worth melted and per, I wondered if the concept of the nine fused with the utter shock I felt gazing muses was some sort of trick invented by at the city below me. Again, this was a unsuccessful artists looking for excuses. I known feeling that would sometimes get mean, blaming writer’s block on Calliope to me and find me dizzy for a little while taking a day off sounds a whole lot easier as I contemplated the city I called home, than telling your editor that you just can’t its never fading lights and incessant buzz. do it. As both sneaky and plausible as this may sound, my romanticism ultimately got the upper hand and unveiled a theory “I wondered if the that is now a firm belief of mine. A couple of years ago, the sinews of concept of the nine my literary explorations had me seated atop a vast rooftop overlooking the diz- muses was some sort zying chessboard of dark back alleys and shiny skyscrapers that draws out Hong of trick invented by Kong Island. I was writing an article on the notion of Desire, the burning, all-con- unsuccessful artists suming feeling spelt out with a capital D. Attending your average high school, looking for excuses.” I’d had the chance to observe and med- itate on the power of adolescent desire. I It was an urge to run through it, soak it had a lot to say, thoughts moved around in, and somehow incorporate it. An arti- in my mind in an excited frenzy that I’d cle that had started out as a tale of human felt many times in the past. I felt this desire for others, turned into the explo- need, this borderline ecstasy of knowing ration of the sensations both the city and that there is something that you absolute- the desire to create triggered in me. They ly have to get out there and onto paper, were almost physical. There was such a canvas or whatever your medium may be. sensuous power to them that they could This tingly feeling in the tips of my fin- have been compared to a feeling of lust, gers that had gotten me out of bed time one to be easily felt in the face of Apollo’s and time again, and left me fidgeting in mythical muses. the middle of my room, trying to get my The city below me was its very own thoughts in order and start creating. At well of inspiration. It was exhilarating, its this very moment, this burning feeling constant flow of people and things that

50 51 moved around between sea, mountains, and steel high rises over crumbling two storey houses. For as many years as there are muses, I sang, danced, acted out, wrote and sometimes even drew (to the despair of my art teacher) following Hong Kong’s rhythm. It did not matter what it was or how good what I produced was, it just had to get out. That is just what this city did to you, a concentration of thousands of ele- ments lost in the South China Sea. The issue with staying in the same place for a long time is that nothing prompts you to consider it within different frameworks. Hong Kong to me wasn’t a city, it wasn’t the economically booming megalopolis Europeans hear about on the news. It was home. It was rows of dodgy market stalls on faux marble floors, rocky beaches and smoky winds from the Mainland. And although I’d been lucky enough to visit other cities around the world, the idea that Hong Kong could fit un- der and be part of the generic appellation of ‘city’ had never hit home. As it did in many realms of my personal construction, settling in London last year was what changed it for me. It brought me to the realisation that Hong Kong was not the only place, and more specifically, not the only city to trigger intense emotions that begged to be translated into something else. I had thought my home had been in- spiring because I loved it fiercely, yet dis- covered I could hate and still be furiously prompted to create. I settled in London and brooded. I refused to open my eyes and kept them shut so tight that the only thing that filtered under my swollen eye- lids were large and uninviting patches of grey.

52 53 I did not like London and refused my entire self to it. Yet, as much as I hurt and felt misplaced, the city was still there and so was my wide grey avenues, need to write, to get its bricks and its wide grey avenues, its hostility out of my system. I was both surprised and scared, because All photographs by Zoe Manset whilst nothing to me seemed inspiring about this big bog of a place, the jittery feeling that sometimes took ahold of me in a delicious frenzy was ever there. It waited for me to accept that. After push- ing away the unnecessary fuzz, the over- whelming crowds that were welcoming in Hong Kong and somehow wild in Lon- don, the core of what it is that draws one to or repulses one away from the city was what mattered to create. Behind all cities, in their conglom- erate of human emotions, bits of nature and creation, hides a well-intentioned muse waiting for the flames of passion- ate creation to roar. Her job stops there. To know whether this flame will destroy all or warm up and comfort is entirely up to you. A year later, I’m not brooding but I’m still writing. London hasn’t really changed, but the way I write about it has. It went from bitter and sarcastic to ten- der and curious. But most of all, this very special city had me realise that I could well have stayed hostile towards it and yet continued to be inspired by it. Because the city, with the brunette woman smok- ing cigarettes in her dimly lit living room every evening at ten past six and with the tree that I frequently walked past that made me discover the joys of spring and the gloomy winter, was always there.

54 55 art

Svečiuose pas Rothko Liza Miseikyte

100cm x 120cm oil paint Photograph by Elena Krukonyte 56 57 OPINION

You Are Enough Illustration by Jago Henderson A Reflection on Our Self-Worth By Anouk de Laubier

Frida Kahlo once wrote: “I am the person I know best” – She believed herself to be her own muse. In today’s society, seeing our- selves as enough can either be considered as being ‘too’ confident, ‘too’ self-aware or ‘too’ arrogant. Why imprison our uniqueness in order to ‘fit in’?

The concept of the muse has not dras- the end, some influencers have become tically changed over the centuries, and the our own evil muse. idea of embodying perfection for some- French author André Gide wrote, “be one else remains heavily suggested behind faithful to that which exists within the word. The muse however, has no sub- jectivity; most of the time she is histori- yourself ” and “dare to be yourself.” cally viewed as a female of extraordinary To dare and be daring, now that is some- beauty. Metamorphosed into an idealized thing that requires personal strength and object of the male gaze, the muse becomes self-confidence, aspects which many of a ‘product’ of someone else’s mind, her us do not even attempt or consider to be individuality is suppressed and her mys- worth trying. Easy to say, harder to do -I terious attraction is the only thing that know. On another note, can we be some- perpetuates in history. Who really is the one else’s unconditional muse without be- muse and what makes her so unique and ing a muse to ourselves first? appealing outside of the artist’s represen- Being your own muse leads to an ego tation? trip of some kind, but your own individu- Being a muse today becomes ever ality also abounds with mystery and cre- more challenging as well as problemat- ativity. You are an inexhaustible source of ic. Social media pushes us to attain per- surprises, and seeking to find your own fection. I would even argue that it con- identity would be restricting yourself to straints us to fit into multiple perfections the absurdity of only having a single per- at the same time. Be ‘thin’, have white sonality, obliviating your originality. In teeth, be ‘curvy’ (but not too much), travel, creating different mises-en-scène, Cindy go to restaurants, show your friends, get Sherman used her own body to create drinks, party, and eventually, show that multiple identities. Are you are doing some educated gallery and museum visits. In

58 59 COMIC Dolly Parton Challenge Renaissance Babes Edition

those identities in some way autobi- the inward outward, in other words, mak- ographical? That remains a question un- ing the invisible visible. Albrecht Dürer’s answered, but Cindy Sherman is to me self-portraits are an acute representa- the embodiment of a free muse, using tion of the physical, handsome-looking her persona and her own body to create man that the artist was and differ greatly someone else, a different ‘her’ each time. from Van Gogh’s troubled self-portraits. In another genre, self-portraits are Self-portraits are the first step towards problematic in their own way. Broadly understanding your own body, face and speaking, there are two types of self-por- mind. While self-portraiture is a starting traits: the ones which concentrate exclu- point in considering and acknowledging sively on the physical accuracy of the sit- ourselves as worthy of representation, it ter, and those which focus on making also works metaphorically as a window and guides the beholder in understanding the artistic self presented.

Note to self: How can you learn from others if you do not know yourself first? Understand your weaknesses, make the most out of them, but be proud of your perfections as well. Comparison leads you nowhere. Instead, acknowledge that you are enough and that inspiration that comes from others is important, but not crucial. You can learn from others but expressing your own uniqueness when creating can only come from you. You can and you should be proud to be your own source of inspiration, your own muse. Don’t let society demotivate you. Be more daring. Dare to show your worth and have no boundaries.

By Rebecca Marks 60 61